This was the first time my family cruised, and my father wanted a port close to home. Charleston is 2 hours away from where we live. My SO and I (mid 30s), my sister and niece, and my parents (mid 60s), cruised together, having staterooms next to one another on the Empress deck.

This review is based on my opinions, and since we've never cruised before, I have nothing to base any of this off of other than our experiences this past weekend.

Embarkation was fine. It was a long line but the process itself was okay. I've waited in much longer lines at various airports. We selected the 12:00-12:30 boarding and finally got on the ship shortly after 1. Read more